


a thousand wishes on a meteor shower

by junji



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Christmas, Implied Mutilation, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-16 19:53:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13061022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/junji/pseuds/junji
Summary: This year, they celebrate Christmas like ordinary people.





	a thousand wishes on a meteor shower

**Author's Note:**

> To A, the beginning of my end, whom i love really much and to W the crybaby ♡

The bus comes to a halt and Chanyeol steps outside into the cold of this December night. It takes him a few moments to adjust to the freezing air biting at the exposed skin on his face. He reaches into the pockets of his thick winter coat for his phone, careful not to drop the box he carries with him in his other hand. The clock on his display reads 11:37 pm. 

With a sigh, he puts it away again. Chanyeol already knows full well that he will be late.

As he watches the bus drive away, Chanyeol starts heading home himself. The snow underneath his sneakers crunches softly, and he feels it slowly soak in through the thin fabric. It crosses his mind that maybe this is the kind of punishment he deserves.

❅❅❅

By the time Chanyeol arrives at his apartment building, the cold has fully invaded the rest of his body. He shudders, closing the front door firmly shut behind him. The hallway is poorly heated, but at least it seems like the elevator is working again. He punches the button to the third floor and regards his reflection in the mirror. He looks tired, a bit of a mess. Chanyeol longs to be home.

❅❅❅

With a soft click of his key, Chanyeol opens the door to his apartment and lets warmth greet him like an old friend. He steps inside, hearing noise coming from the kitchen. There are sweet smells in the air and fairy lights on the window, fitting to the holiday season. It's nice, and this is where Chanyeol is supposed to be.

Junmyeon is standing in front of the kitchen sink with his back turned to him. Chanyeol settles the box down on the table and quietly approaches, careful not to startle him. Tentatively, he puts his hands on Junmyeon's waist and rests his head on his shoulder, which has Junmyeon jumping slightly in surprise anyway.  

"It's just me, Jun."

There's a moment of pause before Junmyeon lowers down the cup he was cleaning and dries his hands on a towel. Chanyeol loosens the grip on him, allowing him to turn around.

"I'm sorry I'm late," Chanyeol starts, but Junmyeon immediately shakes his head, looking down with a smile.

"The important thing is that you're finally here."

Tiny hands come up to grab at his coat, moving up to remove his scarf. Chanyeol remembers how shabby he looked back there in the elevator's mirror. He definitely should take a shower and change into something comfortable first.

"Did you eat already? I brought cake."

Junmyeon laughs. His eyes crinkle up into crescent moons, and it might be Chanyeol's most favorite thing in the world.

"Is that what took you so long? But we both don't like sweets."

❅❅❅

They both don't like sweets but cake is part of the traditional Christmas Eve. Or that's how it's celebrated here, anyway. Chanyeol bought one of Baskin Robbins' fancy ones, with elaborate icing on top and all that, mindless of the fact that even the two of them teaming up would never finish it.

But it's the spirit that counts, and Chanyeol feels like Junmyeon appreciates that.

He has to chuckle though, when he catches Junmyeon pushing the icing decorations back and forth on his plate with a cute frown, obviously reluctant to eat them. "Just leave it, you picky child," Chanyeol teases, which earns him a soft punch to his upper arm.

There are cheesy Christmas carols playing on the radio. It's not the music they would be usually listening to either, but Junmyeon keeps trying to hum along the jolly tunes anyway. Sometimes, he even knows the lyrics to a few lines and sings.

To Chanyeol, Junmyeon's voice itself feels like a nostalgic song, something his heart yearns to return to every day. He shouldn't be missing it in this very moment, when he's sitting right next to him on the couch, but the thought has been weighing him down for quite a long while now.

❅❅❅

Junmyeon reaches underneath the coffee table, pulling out a small box with a festive bow on top, and Chanyeol lets out a sigh of incredulity. It doesn't go unnoticed by Junmyeon, who shoots him a stern look in response. Pulling out _the pout_ isn't fair.

"I thought we had a deal," Chanyeol accuses, although guilt is already gripping at his own heart. It isn't right to accept the present, but Junmyeon is stubborn, holding the box out to him and still glaring insistently.

The creases between Junmyeon's eyebrows melt away as soon as Chanyeol pulls away, though. Like this, Junmyeon resembles a lost child, casting his gaze down to the Christmas gift in his hands as if he was the one doing something wrong. Chanyeol can't stand this, doesn't want to be the reason.

"It's nothing much, I swear," Junmyeon murmurs against the turtleneck of his white knit sweater, messing with the fluffy hair across his forehead in a way he always does when the nerves are getting to him, "I'm thinking you will find good use for it."

So in the end, Chanyeol lifts the box's cover still with a hesitant heart, revealing a wrist watch in shining silver. It's beautiful, simple and understated but adorned with a thousand little details on the inside of its display's polished glass.

Chanyeol owns several already, but imagining Junmyeon picking precisely this one for him, perhaps have it even custom-made, has him thinking that it is the only watch he will be needing for the rest of his life.

Junmyeon reaches out and wraps his slender fingers around Chanyeol's wrist, ever so gentle, and Chanyeol lets him. The skin where he touches tingles and feels warm, until it is replaced by cool metal. The watch fits him perfectly. Junmyeon’s eyes become soft, but sadness lingers.

"Is this a subtle way of saying that I should stop being late all the time?"

Chanyeol tries to play it light, and Junmyeon does indulge him with a short laugh and a light shove to his chest. His hand rests there right above his beating heart, trembling, and the fleeting moment of delight fades as quickly as it came.

"Is it selfish, wanting to be remembered by you like this?"

Junmyeon's voice is so small, a faint whisper underneath his breath, but Chanyeol was still able to hear him. He shakes his head while reaching out to tangle a hand in the hair on the back of Junmyeon's head, carefully pulling towards him to let their foreheads touch. Chanyeol closes his eyes, hoping that Junmyeon will feel that this is a wish he wants to grant him forever.

❅❅❅

They are standing in the kitchen again, washing the few dishes together in comfortable silence. Chanyeol's guilt-ridden conscience pushes him to break it.

"This isn't fair. I didn't get you anything except for the cake."

"There's no need, you know that."

Chanyeol does, but he would give everything for things to be different.

❅❅❅

It's way past the time they would usually be going to bed, but Junmyeon had wanted to sit a little while longer on their living room's couch, to watch the snow fall down onto the sleeping city of Seoul. But like many others, this capital is never really asleep either, with its sea of street lights still afire, reflecting within Junmyeon's eyes. All bundled up in a blanket like this, he looks even smaller, lost in thought and moments away from breaking down. Chanyeol's chest clenches at the sight, but he pretends to not notice.

"Did you use to make it? The snow?," Chanyeol asks instead, cautious of the strength in his voice, as if it could topple Junmyeon down like a house of cards.

There is more of that sadness welling up in Junmyeon's eyes, shimmering through even when he tries to smile at the question. "No," he says softly, wrapping the blanket tighter around his tiny body, "we don't do that."

They have their feet tangled together, but somehow Junmyeon seems a thousand miles away. It's how it was supposed to be for them, but just like back on that day they met, Chanyeol wants to close the distance.

He remembers the first time he laid eyes on Junmyeon, near the Han river in Yongsan sometime in December too. Chanyeol found him sitting in the snow down the riverside, soaked and shaking like a wounded bird. Years have passed now, and Junmyeon still explains it in the same way he did when Chanyeol approached him there: “I crashed down and fell into the water."

Reaching out with one hand, he traces the bony curve of Junmyeon's back over the thin pajama tee he's wearing now. The room is dark, but it's still easy for Chanyeol to find them with his fingers. Large, atrocious scars sticking out Junmyeon's skin, spanning across the length of his shoulder blades.

He keeps telling Chanyeol that it doesn't hurt anymore, but he has seen Junmyeon in the mornings, examining his back in the mirror and flinching at the mutilation that was inflicted upon his body. It's the wound dealt to Junmyeon's heart which worries Chanyeol the most, because he isn't sure if that one will ever be able to heal.

Their eyes meet in the darkness, and finally Junmyeon responds to Chanyeol's silent call, shifting his body so that they are directly facing each other. He looks up at him expectantly, stars twinkling in his eyes like back when they hadn't known pain.

A hand comes up to cup Chanyeol's cheek, and the next moment he feels soft lips touching his. Chanyeol's chest is fluttering, sending a million sparks through his body and it feels like he can finally breathe again.

There's a rush of want as Chanyeol finds himself grabbing at Junmyeon’s upper arms, tilting his head to deepen the kiss. Junmyeon is more than ready to comply, opening up and letting Chanyeol's tongue find its way in.

They fall backwards like this, with Junmyeon pressed down to the couch and Chanyeol leaning over him. Soft gasps escape Junmyeon's mouth when they break apart to catch their breaths, and it encourages Chanyeol to keep touching.

So he slips his hand under Junmyeon's t-shirt and lets it glide up his abdomen, sending a shiver coursing through the entirety of the body beneath him. Junmyeon throws his head to the side in pleasure, allowing Chanyeol's lips to find purchase on his neck. He travels them up and down for a bit, slow and tenderly, until he finds a sensitive spot just above Junmyeon's collarbone. Chanyeol nibs and sucks at it hard, making Junmyeon sigh his name.

A stained mark will bloom there by tomorrow, but maybe it will let Junmyeon forget the sorrow he has stored up deep within himself, even just for a fleeting moment.

"Please, Chanyeol," Junmyeon's breath hitches in between, and Chanyeol aches at the way how broken he sounds.

Before there were feelings involved, Chanyeol had been hungry for these sweet whimpers begging him, and Junmyeon’s body becoming so very pliant under the manipulations of his touch. Chanyeol had wanted to consume Junmyeon whole back then, selfish and without a single care, taking anything he desires just like his kind were supposed to.

But somewhere along the lines Chanyeol had asked for Junmyeon’s heart, too. And Junmyeon, kind and selfless, had been a fool to give it up to someone like Chanyeol. The consequences for their wicked games were ignored by the both of them, until it was too late and they had to pay the price.

Right here and now however, in the confines of the home they have made for themselves, they are safe, with only this cold December night to keep their secret.

❅❅❅

"There's not much time left."

They have stayed there long after Christmas Eve passed and a new day has risen in its wake. There's faint sunlight filtering through the window, bathing the room in warm colors.

Junmyeon is the one lying on top of Chanyeol now, and it is their fingers that are intertwined. They didn't sleep one bit, but when Chanyeol gazes back at those kind and loving eyes, ones that have found only him, he can't help but think this is the most beautiful Junmyeon has ever looked.

He lifts his free arm and wraps it around Junmyeon, holding him even closer. With their bodies flush to each other like this, it feels like their hearts are beating as one.

"How long?" he asks, hand wandering unconsciously back to the scars on Junmyeon's shoulder blades.

 _They should not be part of him,_ Chanyeol thinks as he tries to remember what Junmyeon had looked like before, back when his wings had still been there.

"I don't know exactly," Junmyeon says, meanwhile brushing the rebellious strands of hair away from Chanyeol's forehead, "I just feel it will be soon."

Time is a tricky thing for Chanyeol and Junmyeon, for they both don't belong to this world. From where Chanyeol's from, there is no punishment for what they did, or for pretty much anything else in that matter. But Junmyeon's place handles things differently, worse.

Chanyeol closes his eyes, trying to focus on Junmyeon's gentle touch and his faint breath brushing over his face. He's right here now, not somewhere up in the clouds having his wings brutally ripped away from him.

"I would be asking Minseok-hyung, but he's not talking to me anymore."

It's as if something from deep within Junmyeon’s soul has finally bubbled up when he says it out loud like this, and Chanyeol listens, even if the pain evident in Junmyeon’s voice is hurting him, too.

"I made him so angry. I don't think he'll ever forgive me."

Chanyeol trails his hand back to cup Junmyeon's cheek. He doesn't find the words for it, but he doesn't think this is how things are at all.

And then it crosses Chanyeol's mind that he's never told Junmyeon about how he had encountered Minseok once himself, when Junmyeon was called back up to heaven to receive his penalty.

The other angel had kicked Chanyeol to the ground and shoved his face into the dirt with his foot, right after he had found out what happened between him and Junmyeon.

"Wretched demon scum, I should kill you for what you did to him!"

There were tears in Minseok's eyes even though they had been looking at Chanyeol only in pure rage and disgust. He was able to tell just how much Minseok cared for Junmyeon, but at that time Chanyeol could only scream back, how it's them who are vicious and gruesome. It's them ruining, violating Junmyeon's body, and it's nothing else but the pathetic farce of a death sentence.

Chanyeol opens his eyes again, returning back to reality and letting the memories fade. In the end, it doesn't matter as the crushing guilt always comes flooding back to him.

Stealing Junmyeon's heart even if it wasn't his to take, failing to protect him from having his wings clipped, it's all Chanyeol's fault.

"It isn't," Junmyeon whispers as he wipes softly at Chanyeol's cheeks, and only then Chanyeol realizes that teardrops have been rolling down on them, "I took the fall, knowing what will happen to me."

Angels are nothing without their wings. In rare cases where they survive the agony of losing them, they are usually cast away from heaven anyway, left to cease from existence soon after.

"When you wear the watch, please remember that I was there to love you, just in time."

It's the morning after Christmas Eve, and although most of their wishes haven't come true, it is enough.  

❅❅❅

Bonus:

"Was it worth it," Baekhyun asks, fiddling with Chanyeol's watch in his hands, "having your time running again?”

Chanyeol observes him in his attempt to try the watch on, cackling when Baekhyun realizes that it's too big for his delicate wrist. With a pout he throws the accessory back at him, prompting Chanyeol to catch it with one swift move of his hand.

"Shouldn't you be happy about it? In a few years I won't be the best looking demon around anymore."

Baekhyun just snorts at that, shifting his skinny red wings into a more comfortable position and turning around to have a better look on Chanyeol.

"Yongsan, Han riverside, December 2, 2012. What does it mean?"

Chanyeol hasn't really expected for Baekhyun to stop pestering him with questions, but this one has him taken aback, "What are you saying?"

"The little engraving. On your watch."

How hasn't he seen it before? Chanyeol has to turn the watch multiple times until he finally finds the tiny letters on the edge of its case.

Covering his face with both hands, Chanyeol feels safe to let the huge smile form across his lips. Baekhyun's complaints about wanting to be let in on that secret fade into the background, until there is only Junmyeon’s laugh ringing clear and mellow in Chanyeol's ears.

**Author's Note:**

> Tip: Look up the date in relation to suyeol.  
> Thank you for reading! ❣  
>   
> In memory of Kim Jonghyun, R.I.P.


End file.
